Creating Craters

Downloads

This lesson allows pupils to create impact craters in layered dry materials. Pupils can perform controlled experiments by varying the velocity or mass of crater-forming objects and observing and measuring their effects.

Aims

To give pupils an opportunity to make predictions, isolate and manipulate variables and collect data in order to test their hypotheses.
To encourage pupils to use graphs, tables and diagrams to present their data.
To give pupils an understanding of the relationship between velocity, mass and kinetic energy and the effects of these variables on crater formation.

Objectives

Pupils will:

Manipulate the variables of velocity and mass to investigate how these affect the formation of craters.
Identify various structures caused by the cratering process.
Recognise the conditions that control the size and appearance of impact craters.
State the relationship between the size of the crater, size of the projectile and velocity.
Demonstrate the transfer of energy in the cratering process.

Equipment (Per Group)

One set of projectiles; SET A or SET B

SET A: Four marbles, ball bearings or similar of identical size and weight.
SET B: Three spheres of equal size but different materials so that they have different mass.

Ruler and meter rule
Digital balance
Data Chart